How to Steam Clothes?

Modern fabrics are almost wrinkle-free, and informal clothing styles are much more common nowadays than they used to be. However, there are situations when you can't do without ironing. Not everyone likes to start the cold season in a wrinkled coat in the closet. And an unironed evening dress is not appropriate for the theater either.

For most people who have to wash and care for clothes, ironing clothes is not the most pleasant thing to do. It is necessary to set up the ironing board, turn on the iron, iron things (at the same time there is a risk of getting burned), and collect and put away the board. There are too many tasks you have to do.

Other than the intricate and cumbersome works of ironing clothes, many people have been in a situation where brand new clothes were destroyed by improper care. Someone could literally boil their sweater in the washing machine, turning it into an adorable doll sweater, and someone ironed a cashmere dress, getting glossy patches with creases.

The question here is that not everyone knows about the fact that iron has a good alternative: a steamer, or you have one but do not know how to use it, that is why you are reading this blog here. This handy device will smooth and refresh anything in just a couple of minutes. Steaming is much easier than ironing. Such devices are designed to smooth things with hot steam since they are efficient and time-saving. This helps to keep things in perfect condition if you use the steamer correctly. But to ensure that the shirt is not left crumpled after ironing, and spoiled, you need to know how to use the steamer, so keep reading this blog.

The principle of operation of the appliance is simple: the water must boil. Water is poured into the tank, the heating element brings it to a boil, and then the hot steam is discharged outside under controlled pressure. Through the holes, the steam comes out, which blows hot air over the laundry, due to which the creases are smoothed out. Unlike an iron, this device almost does not touch the fabric, so you will not need an ironing board to use it. Things can be processed both vertically and horizontally.

Various attachments allow you to level different fabrics with its help, but in most cases, the fabric itself does not come into contact - and therefore, harms it much less than conventional irons.

In addition, although hot steam will not replace washing, it will allow you to refresh the appearance of clothes and even kill some of the bacteria and viruses. However such treatment should not be considered a full-fledged disinfection.

The advantage of the steamer is that it does not require direct contact with the fabric, unlike an iron. This means that the appliance does not leave marks on the fabric or damage it. It is easy to maneuver around clothes and can be used even in hard-to-reach areas. The steamer can be used to treat different types of fabrics such as cotton, silk, viscose, linen, wool, and others. The device can be used to steam clothes, bedding, curtains, upholstered furniture, and other textiles.

Steaming a down jacket? It's not hard to guess that down jackets contain down. However, there are two types of these products: down-filled and synthetic. Both cannot be ironed with an iron, but both are suitable for steaming. The steam penetrates deeply and straightens the fluff or synthetic filling.

Another thing to remember is that if the thing is dark in color or on its lace elements or embroidery - iron from the underside. So the dark thing will not appear shiny, and the embroidery will not burn. Iron only clean clothes. Dirty clothes may have imperceptible stains that will be difficult to wash later.

Modern steamers are based on the use of water, the quality of which significantly affects the life expectancy of the appliance. Choosing water usually seems simple, but it really isn't.

The various salt and mineral compounds contained in the liquid can spoil the heating element and leave marks and streaks on clothes. You may be wondering what kind of water should you use for the steamer. The optimal option is water that does not leave lime scale, limescale, and scale.

Sometimes manufacturers allow the use of ordinary tap water. However, such a liquid may contain many minerals and impurities. As a result, the device will have to be cleaned from limescale more often, and stains may remain on clothes.

Try to fill your steamer with distilled, filtered, or bottled drinking water. Such liquids are safe for both the appliance and the fabrics. You could avoid many problems by using distilled water in this case.

All right, let's get started:

1️⃣Fill the steamer with water.
2️⃣Turn on the appliance by plugging it in and wait for it to heat up.
3️⃣While the appliance is heating up, it's time to hang your clothes on the hanger of the steamer.
4️⃣Carefully straighten the garment, fasten buttons if necessary, and smooth out small details.
5️⃣Remember to look at the tag on the garment. It should state that heat and steam treatment is allowed. If such treatment is prohibited, you will have to look for other methods.
6️⃣Steamer iron can be heated, so when straightening strong folds, you can iron with it.
7️⃣The device is heated, and the steam is ready. Let's get started.
8️⃣To begin with, choose a small section of fabric, which in the process of wearing is not visible, and direct the steam jet. This will help to test and understand how the fabric reacts to the steam treatment. Do not skip this step to avoid ruining the item. If all is well, you can proceed.
9️⃣If the garment is a combination garment, such as one made of textiles but has fur trim, follow the recommendations for steaming both materials.
🔟When steaming, hold the part to be steamed with your hand from underneath. Tighten lightly, but do not overstretch the fabric.

Surely many people are familiar with this situation: It happens that you are going to visit and decide to wear your favorite silk dress. However, in the closet it got wrinkled, and after ironing hastily on the thing left creases and traces of seams, which spoiled the image. This happens because satin is a very light and slippery fabric, which quickly leaves folds, creases, and seam marks. And to iron the things so that they were not at all, it is very difficult. And not only silk is so finicky. For example, wool and cashmere lose their softness if you choose the wrong temperature mode when ironing. So, how to steam clothes made from natural fabrics?

🧶Silk
One of the most beautiful and capricious fabrics requires delicate treatment. It is incredibly easy to spoil a silk item - from a grease stain to a too-hot iron.

Ideally, silk should be washed by hand in slightly warm water. For washing, use special means or ordinary shampoo. When washing, do not rub, but as if “squeeze” the fabric. If your washing machine has a mode of “delicate washing”, use it, but first, wash in this way, not the most favorite silk thing - as a test. The spin mode is unacceptable for silk. Silk thing is better, as well as woolen, gently wrung out in a towel, and then dried on shoulders.

It is recommended to steam silk: steam will help to preserve the structure of the fabric and steamers are less likely to spoil the delicate material. Such complex fabrics as panne velvet (silk-based velvet) require even more attention. They can also be washed only by hand and dried on a horizontal surface. Steam is not able to harm them, but the iron will smooth the pile, which will change the whole essence of panne velvet. You should choose a steamer with an anti-drip system so that the water does not leave stains on the silk.

🧶Wool
Wool-based fabrics abound, and not always for warmth. Some of the finest wool materials are used for great summer men's suits and have proven themselves in hot climates. On the other pole from the finest wool - sweaters tightly knitted from coarse wool threads: in this, you can go out in the cold and not freeze.

It is not easy to take care of any wool. Of course, suits and coats made of this versatile material should be dry-cleaned. But knitted things can be washed at home only in cool or slightly warm water with special detergents for wool. It is strictly forbidden to wring out twisting. To make the water runoff, the sweater or cardigan should be placed on a flat surface - some special nets or grids can be installed on the bathtub so that the water does not drip to the floor. Another option is to gently wring out the sweater by wrapping it in a towel and blotting it as if, after which it is required to dry it on a flat surface.

It is better to steam woolen things in this way: the surface of the iron will almost inevitably leave shiny spots on the fabric and generally spoil the appearance and structure of the thing, especially if the wool has a long pile. Cashmere will cease to be soft and airy after ironing. With a steamer, you can not only avoid this but also correct what the iron has done: the steam lifts the ironed fibers. If there is nothing but an iron, take a piece of gauze, wet it, squeeze it well, and iron the woolen thing from the underside through the gauze.

On woolen things often formed lint, which not only spoils the appearance of clothes, but also causes real damage: fibers turn into mini-cottons, which pull the fabric around, then tear, and the material in these places thinning.

Wool is a tidbit for moths and bugs, so lavender bags, cedar wood figurines or plaques, or special repellent plates should be hung in the closet where items made of this fabric are hung.